Spray containers



July 7, 1970 c. w. CARR ETAL SPRAY CONTAINERS m SRE RRB 3N mm Em w CW Filed Feb. 26, 1968 I IIIII! II I 1 ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,519,168 SPRAY CONTAINERS Clarence W. Carr, 5844 Saloma 63120, and William J. Halbert, 4505 Clayton Ave. 63110, both of St. Louis,

Filed Feb. 26, 1968, Ser. No. 708,374 Int. Cl. B67d 5/60 U.S. Cl. 222--132 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to devices for spraying coating materials such as paint or the like, and more particularly to a multiple compartment spray container for use therewith.

In the art of spray painting as heretofore practiced, a

spray device employed a paint container capable of holding only a single color of paint or the like coating materials with the net effect that in order to effect a change, either of color or substance, the container had to be emptied and thoroughly cleaned before further progress could be made. Alternatively, a number of fresh containers could be kept available to permit container substitutions as the desire for change arose. Needless to say, both procedures were time consuming, inefiicient and involved a mess which it is desirable to avoid.

It is toward elimination of these problems of prior art devices that the present invention is directed.

Accordingly, a prime object of the present invention is to provide a device which permits difierent colors or kinds of coating materials to be sprayed from a single container and obviates the prior art difficulties of many containers or sprays.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device in which a single source of air pressure is employed to propel all of the diverse coating materials one at a time.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a device of the character described in which a plurality of partitions are integrally and strategically disposed within a single housing to define a container having a plurality of discrete compartments and which is easy to manipulate and efficient to use.

A further object of this invention is to provide a device having a container in which a single air inlet is employed to provide propellant to all sections thereof.

Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a unique device for spraying coating materials and the like in which changes of color or material can quickly and easily be effected without either changing or cleaning the container in which the material is carried.

These and still further objects of our invention, as shall hereinafter appear, are remarkably and unexpected ly fulfilled by the present invention as will be readily discerned from a careful reading of the following description of an exemplary embodiment thereof, especially when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional perspective, partially broken away from clarity, of a container embodying the present invention having a spray-gun, shown in phantom, connected to one of the outlets therein;

FIG. 2 is a side-elevation of container of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a top view of the device as shown in FIG. 2.

Referring now to the drawingin which like charac- 3,519,168 Patented July 7, 1970 I CC ters of reference are employed to indicate corresponding parts and features throughout the several views, character 10 identifies a cylindrical housing having a top plate 11 attached to an upper flange 12 of cylinder 10 by suitable means such as a plurality of bolts or screws shown as 13. A gasket 14 is disposed between plate 11 and flange 12 to effect a seal. Housing 10 may be of any desired form, shape, or contour and plate 11 and gasket 14 will, of course, be formed to conform with the shape of flange 12.

Cylinder 10 is provided with a plurality of partitions 15 strategically disposed therewithin to define a plurality of compartments a, b, c and d can be supplied with a different color or different kind of coating material, depending on the job at hand. Normally one compartment, for instance, compartment d, will contain suitable solvent for a purpose which will appear. The number of partitions 15 used will determine the number of compartments defined thereby. We find that in most cases, our needs are satisfied with four, six or eight compartments although, depending on the variety of materials needed, any number of compartments can be provided.

Top plate 11 is provided with a centrally disposed air opening or inlet 16, and a baflle plate 17. Plate 17 is sus pended from plate 11 to a position below air inlet 16 by a plurality of support members 18. As shown in FIG. 2, bafile plate 17 is located above the upper edges of partitions 15 within cylinder 10.

A plurality of tubular members 19 extend through the top plate 11 and downwardly therefrom whereupon one of these members 19 is disposed centrally within each of the compartments a, b, c and d formed by the coaction of partitions 15 with container 10. Each tube 19 preferably extends downwardly to a position near the bottom of its respective compartment.

The top end 29 of each tubular member 19, is arranged to accommodate a conventional spray-gun 20, shown generally in phantom in FIG. 1 in threaded or other suitable engagement therewith. Gun 20 is equipped with a hose member 21 which is connected to the source of air supply (not shown).

From the foregoing description, it is apparent that the device has been herein described and illustrated which is a simple means of accomplishing the purpose for which it is intended. The device is simple in construction and inexpensive to manufacture. The plurality of compartments within a single container enables the device to hold a plurality of preselected coating materials and preferably, one compartment will contain a solvent. Spray gun 20 is attached to a tube 19 as by threaded engagement therewith, and that tubular member 19 extends into the compartment containing the desired coating material. Upon activating the air supply which flows through hose 21, the material in the selected compartment will be drawn out of the compartment through member 19 and gun 20 by the action of the pressurized air fiow controlled by and passing through the spray gun. As the material and air is drawn out of the selected compartment, the air is replaced by the freeflow of atmospheric air through inlet 16 where it is dispersed by baflle 17 into the desired compartments.

All of the diverse coating materials and solvents, such as paints of various colors, are thus disposed in a single container and the spray gun can be attached to any one of the tubular members without any mechanical skill, whereupon the inconvenience of a plurality of separate paint containers is eliminated. To clear the nozzle for a color or substance change, that is, from red to yellow or from paint to varnish, the gun is simply connected to the member 19 of the solvent-containing compartment and momentarily operated.

It is, of course, understood that while we have shown a specific construction and arrangement of the various parts and features constituting the invention, it is here presented to merely exemplify the invention and not by way of limitation. We are fully cognizant of the fact that many changes may be made in the parts and their configuration without effecting the operativeness of the device. Accordingly, such changes, modifications, alterations and applications as may readily occur to the artisan when confronted with this disclosure are intended to be embraced with the spirit of this invention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. An improved container adapted for operative connection and use with a spray gun for spraying coating materials,

said container being cylindrically shaped,

said cylinder having a mouth and an annular flange circumscribing said mouth,

a top plate attachable to said flange to enclose said cylinder,

a plurality of partitioned walls disposed within said cylinder and coacting therewith to define a plurality of discrete adjacent compartments therein,

each of said compartments being contiguous with the adjacent compartments,

gasket means operatively interposed between said fiange and said top plate in surface-to-surface sealing engagement therewith,

said top plate having an air inlet means,

said air inlet means consisting of a single inlet extending through said top plate whereby said inlet simultaneously equally serves all of said compartments,

4 a plurality of apertures disposed one each in superposed communicative relationship with each one of said compartments, and a tubular member disposed in each of the said compartments and extending through each of the said apertures respectively,

said tubular members each having at the upper ends thereof means for direct attachment to a spray gun.

2. The improved container of claim 1 wherein each of said compartments is completely contiguous with the adjacent compartments, whereby there are no passage ways between said compartments.

3. The improved container of claim 2 wherein said air inlet means consists of a single centrally defined inlet extending through said top plate, and

a baffle plate top plate in depending and space opposed relationship to said single inlet.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 525,955 9/1894 Leacock 222-136 X 904,371 11/1908 Stewart 222394 1,090,866 3/1914 Kelley 222136 X 1,765,844 6/1930 Maynard 222-394 X 1,863,782 6/1932 Young 222-136 X 2,339,379 1/1944 Cook 239-305 ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner H. 8-. LANE, Assistant Examiner U. S. Cl. X.R. 222-136 

